Method for building ships



April 1946. R. D} BOURNE METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 5, 194g INVENTOR mvmawnnaourenz,

BY f 4 W, ATTORNEYS April 9, 1946 R". D. BOURNE 2,398,131

METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS Filed NOV. 5, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR [El] {9, RAYMOND DHBOURNE, BY

. J WrW' W. ATTORNEYS Aprifi 9, 1946. R. D. BOURNE I METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS Filed Nov. 5, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR RAYMOND D. BOURNE,

r ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 9, 1946 UN I T ED STATE S PATENT 'O FF [CE METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS Raymond D; Bourne, Middletown; Ohio Application November 5, 1942;;Serial Nol 464,599

6 Claims.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing boats, barges and Other vessels'from a continuous metal sheet by forming the sheet into a desired cross-sectional contour and pinching the formed sheettogether at regular intervals to thereby produce individual vessels from the continuously formed sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing vessels for cargo or passenger service by forming metal sheets in a continuous rolling operation to produce a desired cross-sectional contour of the vessel, and subsequently pinching the formed metal sheet together at regular intervals to form the bow of onevessel and the stern of another andsevering thevessels in the area at which the formed sheet is pinched together to thereby produce individual vessels in a continuous forming operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for producing cargo or passenger vessels that is a continuous process-which consists of producing the vessels by forming sheets of metal of a. length suitable for the vessel that is to be produced and tacking the sheets together so that a continuous metal sheet can be passed between forming rolls to produce a continuous cross-section of the desired contour for a vessel, and

inching the formed sheets-together at the line of division between the individual sheets, and severing the sheets at this line of division so that the stern of onevessel and the bow of-another vessel are formed simultaneouslmand just before the sheets are severed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing'cargo orpassenger vessels wherein the two sides of the vessels are produced by a continuous forming operation, and are subsequently brought together and secured in their'proper relationship by welding'along the keel line of the vessel.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from'the drawings and the following description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan elevational view of a vessel formed by the processof this invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the vessel shown in Fig. 1 and is taken along line 2--'-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is a side elevational view of the vessel shown in Fig. 1 showing the manner; in which the bow and stern ofa built are formed.

-'Fig.t4 is-atransverse cross-sectional viewof a vessel. similar to that shownin 'Eig. 1 :wherein the sides of theyess'el: are formed from-separate metal sheets and arewelded'alongithe keelfline.

. Fig... 5. is av planview. of asrollingiand forming mill for. producing thesvessels .in.:accordance:with

the. teaching of this invention.

Fig. 6 is a verticalcrossesectional viewiltaken along line 66 of Fig. 5 showingitheimanner in .which the. formed metalisheetsliareipinchedtogether andsevered.

Fig. 7 is .adiagrammatic :illustratiomof the rolls provided inthe forming millioryproducing the first operation upon the.:metal:.sheet.;as it: enters .the. forming mill to produce. thevvessels.

Fig-8. is a diagrammatic. illustration of a secondgroup. offorming rolls. for producing. a subsequentv operation in thezseriesxof. operationsperformed upon the metal sheet as it.passes through the forming mill.

-Figu9 is. a diagrammatic xillustrationatoftxthe forming rolls for producingithe'keelof' the vessel.

Fig. 10 is 'a;diagrammatic.illustration of'ithe rolls foru producing the :curved side walls of. the vessel.

Figures 11,. 12 and 13: are diagrammatic; illustrations'; of the rolls used :in; producing.- one: side of a vessel when the vessel isatofibetconstructed from two sheets .of metal; andeassembled by securing the sheets together: along the keel line.

The process I disclosed in ithls invention is adapted to produce passenger or cargo vessels by .a-continuous operation. Sheets. of :metal are. fed

:intowa rolling and-forming mill wherein the sheets are; bent and. formed into? the. desiredcon- Y tour -for; providing the.;.side walls of a r vessel.

When the formed-sheets leave the forming'mill they are pinched together at aperiodic intervals so that the stern of .one: vessel andixthe bow. of another :are formed simultaneously. 'Subsequently; .the *vessels are :severed; in .the: :area. at whichjthe': formed .sheets have :beencpressed-or pinched together. The line of severance between the vessels, which. nowformsxithe tbowton. stern of a vessel, can be welded to proividea suitable hull.

A :vessel constructedw in'laccordancewith the teachings of this invention; is shownzin: Figures 1,.2 and.3 The: vessel consists otisideawalls l0 and H that have channel sections I2 =andl3 formed in the upper-edges f the-side walls It and H. The channel-sectionsl2:and I3'provide a reinforcement, or stifiening'ofthesidawalls l and H along the gunwales of the vessel. The vessel as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is constructed from a single sheet of metal. The side walls I0 and H are therefore formed upwardly from the keel M. A reinforcing channel section I6 is provided in the Wall [0, and a similar reinforcing channel I! is provided in the wall H. A partition l8, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, can be supported upon the channel sections 16 and I1 provided in the side walls [0 and II. If the vessel I5 is of relatively small size the partition 18 may be used as a seat for passengers, or in larger sized vessels the partition l8 may be used as a platform to support cargo in the upper portion of the vessel that may be different from the cargo placed within the lower portion of the vessel. If desired a liquid cargo could be placed within the lower portion of the vessel I5 while a dry or bulky cargo could be supported upon the partition l8 and thereby separate the two types of cargo.

The vessel 15 is formed from a continuous sheet of metal so that the cross-sectional contour shown in Fig. 2 will exist throughout the length of the vessel i5. When the formed sheet of metal, such as that shown in Fig. 2, is discharged from a forming mill, to be hereinafter described, suitable apparatus is provided for pinching, r pressing the sides l0 and II of the vessel together so that the bow I9 and the stern 20 will be formed.

When the side walls 10 and H are brought into engagement with one another, by apparatus to be hereinafterdescribed, the excess metal in the sheet produced by closing the side walls I!) and II into engagement with one another will extend downwardly from the keel M as shown in Fig. 3, the excess metal being indicated by the downwardly extending portion 2| to form a stabilizerat the stern of the vessel. The metal at the bow of the boat is slit longitudinally in alignment with the keel M so that the metal can be folded over and welded to the side of the boat as indicated by the folded portion 22.

As previously mentioned, when the formed sheet has been pressed or pinched together to form a bow or stern of a vessel and severed, the line of severance is welded to seal the same, indicated by the weld portion 23 on the bow and the weld portion 24 on the stern of the vessel. Tow rings 25 are secured to the bow and stern of the vessel so that they can be connected together by suitable tow lines when towing a plurality of the vessels.

The vessel disclosed in Figures 1 to 3 is constructed from a single sheet of metal, and is preferably constructed from sheets that are of a length suitable for forming a single vessel so that the lines of severance between the vessels will'be at the line of juncture between adjacent metal sheets. If desired, however, the metal sheets can be of a length longer than a single vessel and the sheets severed at whatever periodic intervals are desired to form the desired length of vessel, In the latter instance the joint between adjacent metal sheets would be suitably welded to seal the joint.

When the vessels l5 are to be used as barges for carrying cargo a cover 26, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, is provided for closing the top portion of the vessel and is suitably secured to the gunwales of the vessel.

In order to form the vessel as shown in Fig. 1 to 3 inclusive, metal sheets 3!] are butt welded together by the weld joint 3|. The weld joint 3| major forming operations of the hull 32.

may be a continuous weld across the sheets 30, or a tack weld, depending upon whether or not the sheets 30 are of a length equal to the length of a vessel to be formed, or the weld 3| will appear between the bow and the stern of a vessel. The metal sheets 30 are therefore adapted to be fed into a rolling and forming mill 35 that is provided with a series of rollers adapted to form the hull 32 of the vessel. The rollers within the rolling and forming mill 35 are driven by a suitable electric motor 33, or other source of power, that drives the rolls through a speed reducing mechanism 34.

The operations that are performed upon the metal sheets 30 as they pass through the rolling and forming mill 35 are shown in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive. The operations disclosed in Figures '7 to 10 are not all of the operations performed upon the metal sheets but are significant operations that have been illustrated to show the It is therefore to be understood that several other forming operations can be performed between each of the steps disclosed in Figures 7 to 10.

When the metal sheets 30 enter the forming or rolling mill 35 one of the first operations upon the sheets 30 is to break the edges of the sheet 30 parallel to the sheet edges as indicated at 36 and 31. To break the metal along the parallel lines 36 and 31, the metal sheet 30 is fed between the rollers 38 and 39, similar rollers being provided for breaking each edge of the sheet 30. These break lines 36 and 31 are the initial forming operations for producing the channel sections l2 and [3 shown in Fig. 8. It is. of course, understood that there are a number of rollers that work upon the edges of the metal sheet to roll the same into the channel sections l2 and I3 between the operation disclosed in Fig. 7 and the operation disclosed in Fig. 8. However, the intermediate forming operations are merely a continuance of the sequence of folding the edges of the sheet 30 at the break lines 36 and 31 so that the intermediate rolls that produce this rolling operation have not been specifically illustrated.

After the channel sections I2 and I3 have been formed, the sheet then passes between a pair of rollers 40 and 4| that forms the channel sections l6 and I]. This operation may, of course, be performed by a series of rollers, and preferably should be performed in this manner because the metal used between the channel I6 and I! in the forming operation reduces the dimension between certain points in the channel sections [6 and I1 tending to stretch the metal sheet between the channel sections l6 and I1. Also, these channel sections could be formed one at a time to reduce the tendency of stretching the sheet between the channel sections [6 and H.

After the channel sections I6 and II have been formed the sheet 30 then passes through a pair of rollers 42 and 43 that are adapted to shape the metal sheet along the mid line to form the bottom of the vessel and the keel 14. Here again, the operation between the step disclosed in Fig. 8 and the step disclosed in Fig. 9 can be performed by a series of rollers to gradually bring the sheet 30 into the position shown in Fig. 9 with the keel I4 fully formed. Preferably, the operation would be performed in this manner because the metal sheet would require gradual bending upwardly along its mid line from the horizontal position.

After the keel H has been formed, the metal sheet is then in condition for forming the side walls and H of the 'vessel' [5.

. age-98 ,131

'therebetween, this lengthof hull being indicated on' -the right hand side-of the clamping members 52 and 53. When the predetermined lengthof The sheet is then carried between forming rollers 44 and 45,

as shown in' Fig. lOto'formthe side wall-l0 of the vessel l5. After the side' wall'lil has been formed, theside" walll l is carried between'similar rollers to formthisside-of the hull 32 to conformwith the side 10.

After the i forming operation on the side --wall i let the hull-"'32 the sheet leaves the formingand rolling millifi with a cross-sectionlilce that disclosed in Fig/ 2. -The cross-sectionillustrated in the drawings is only one of many cross-sections'that can be formed' in -a forming and rolling mill, and it is merelyillustrative of one type of vessel that-can be producedby the continuous 'hu1l'32 at'periodic intervals to thereby cause the side walls to engage one another and form the stern of one vessel and the bow of another. The apparatus is also adapted to shear the sheet in the area in which the side walls arecompressed together, thereby severing one vessel from another.

The apparatus for pinching the side walls of the hull 32 together consists of a pair of hydraulic motors 46 and 41 that are connected to a suitable source of pressure fluid for reciprocating the motors,and thus reciprocatingthe rams 48 and 49 toward one another. The motorsdfi and 47 are, of course, provided with suitable fluid inlets and outlets, and suitable control mechanism for directing the flow of fluid to and from opposite ends of the motors t and H to'regulate the operation of the motors. The hydraulic motors 46 and 41 are supported upon acarriage 55 that is slidably supported upon guide rods 5| that permit the carriage50 to move with the move-*- ment of the hull 32 as-it is discharged'from the iorming and rolling mill 35. Thecarriage 50 can be driven by a suitable mechanism: adapted to operate the carriage in synchronism with the movement of the hull 32, or the movement'of the hull 32 can itself drive the carriage 50 along the guide rods 5!. The springs 65 provided around the guide rods '5! urgethefioarriage 53 against the stops 66 when the clamping members supported by the carriage are not in engagement with the hull 32 that is advancing 'from the forming and rolling mill 35. Whenever the clamping members, carried by the carriage, engage the hull 32 itwill be carried forward against the springs 65 so that the clamping operation upon" the hull- 32, and a subsequent severing operation, can be produced without stopping the movement of the sheet 35 through the forming and rolling mill 35.

The rams 43 and ofthe hydraulic motors' hydraulicmotors 46 and '41 respectively, the

clamping members 52 and 53-advance-simultaneously toward the center line of thehull32.

As shown in'Fig. 5'the hull'32 has beenadvaneed between the clamping members/ 52 and 53 until a -predetermined length of hull has *passed hull has passed thec1amping members-52 and 53, hydraulic fluid will be supplied through the conduits 54- and -55 of the motors 45 and to ad vance the clamping members 52 and 53 into the hull 32 and'thereby pi-nch the side walls of the hulltogether. This operation produces the stern '10 20 of one vessel and the bow l9 ofanother'vessel. The clamping member-52 is provided with a recess 56 that'is adapted to receive a-shearing blade51 that is advanced from the clamping member 53, the-shearing blade 51 being carried within the clamping member 53. A spring58 positioned between the clamping member 53 and a collar 59 prevents the shearing blade 51 from. advancing into engagement with the hull 32 until the members 52 and 53 have pinched the side walls of the hull-32 together. The members 52 and 53 engagea'stop 6B when they have pinched the sidewalls of the hull "32' together. Subsequent increase in pressure upon the hydraulic motors 46 and 41" causes the shearing blade?! to advance intothe'recess 56 in the clamping member 52 and thereby shear the stern 20 of the 'vessel l5a fromthe bow I9 of the vessel I511. 'The shearing blade 51 is'preferably constructed with the shearing edge 62 disposed upon a slight angleto increase the effectiveness of the shearing blade.

After the vessel 15a has been sheared from'the continuous sheet passing through the forming and rollingmill 35, the bow and stern endsare welded as'shown in Fig. 3 and indicated by the weld 1ines'23 and 24.

.As previously mentioned, 'the pinchingof the hull 32 by means of the clamping members 52 and 53 produces excess metal along the-keel of the vessel at the bow and stern. This excess metal at the stem 23 may be. pinched together to form a stabilizing fin 21 to aid in guiding the vessel when it is being towed. The excess metal at the bow 19 projects downwardly exactly like thestern portion 2|, Figure 3. In all cases, the metal at the fold is integral and continuous.

' The metal at the fold of the-bow portion is then "slit for the necessary'distance by any well-"known metal-cutting device, or the separation may be effected by passing a grinding wheel externally along the fold thus grinding through the metal and forming a slit. Next, the triangular shaped sections'formed by the slit are'each folded'outwardly and upwardlyalong a linesubstantially coincident with the line of the-keel until each lies flat against its adjacent side of the vessel. Sub- 'sequen'tly, the contacting folds are welded to form a watertight joint and the edges or each triangular portion are welded continuously or'in spots to the adjacent'sides of the vessel to form a smooth rigid lower bow section.

Alternatively after the step of slitting as aforesaid, the two triangular portions may be pried apart to separate" the edges formed by the slit. One triangular section "may thenbe folded inwardly and'upwardly between the separated portions' and substantially along the line of the keel. The two separated portions are then bent back into contact and the other triangular section is folded upwardly and over the first section. '-The edges are then sealed in any desired manner to form a smooth, rigid, watertight joint. The portions are then folded over one anotherend welded to the sidewalls, oneof the portions being welded to theinsidewvall of the bow while" the other is welded to the outside wall of the bow as indicated by the portion 22 shown on Fig. 3. This folding operation can be performed between any suitable dies, or if the sheet metal is not of an extremely heavy gauge, the flap portions could be bent by a workman with the use of a heavy 'hammer.

The continuous forming and rolling process disclosed provides a method for rapidly producing cargo or passenger vessels that are suitable for service that does not require an elaborate construction of a vessel. The vessels are particularly suited as tow barges that can be pulled behind a towing vessel, such as a freighter, to increase the quantity of cargo that can be moved by a single freighter, most freighters, and other boats, having excess power that can be utilized by towing a number of the vessels or barges disclosed herein.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a vessel [511 that is constructed from two sheets of metal, each sheet forming a side wall of the vessel l5d. In this modification the side wall lfld, and the side Wall lid are formed independently, and are subsequentl brought together at an assembly station so that they can be welded together along the keel line Md and at the bow and stern of the vessel. When the vessel l5d is constructed from two sheets of metal, which are joined along the keel line, a vessel can be constructed that is considerably larger than the vessel disclosed in Fig. 2. While the two vessels shown in Figures 2 and 4 are illustrated as being of the same size, it can readily be understood that if the vessel of Fig. 2 is made from one sheet of metal that the same sheet of metal when formed into a single side of a vessel such as that shown in Fig. 4 that the vessel l5d can be considerably larger than the vessel [5.

In forming the sheets for the vessel 15d, the metal sheets 30d are passed between forming rolls 38d and 39d to break the edge of the sheet along the lines 36d and 31d, as shown in Fig. 11. The sheet is then passed between forming rolls 40d and lid to form the channel section I611, as disclosed in Fig. 12. The operations performed in Figures 11 and 12 are the same operations as performed in Figures '7 and 8 as heretofore described, except that the operation is performed along only one edge of the metal sheet 30d.

The formed sheet 30d, after leaving the rolls shown in Fig. 12, is then passed between forming rolls 63 and 64 that shape the sheet 30d into the desired contour for providing a side wall [d of the vessel I511, and also forming the keel portion Md. A single set of rolls can produce both sides of the vessel ld, the sheets being positioned end for end to thereby provide left and right hand sections of the vessel Hid.

The wall sections llld and l id are then brought into adjacent relationship and the bottom edges of the sheets are welded along the keel line Md.

The vessels shown in Fig. 4 can be constructed from individual sheets of the desired length to produce a vessel of a specified length, the ends of the sheets in this case being formed either before or after welding the sheets together along the keel line. If desired, the formed side wall sheets Hid and lid can be passed between forming members as disclosed in Fig. 5 for simultaneously producing the bow of one vessel and the stern of another after the sheets have been welded along the keel line.

While the method of manufacturing vessels as disclosed herein constitutes a preferred method yet it is to be understood that the various steps in the process can be altered without departing from the spirit of the invention, also the apparatus for performing the various steps of the process can be altered, all of which can be accomplished without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore understood that all such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method for producing water going vessels in a continuous process which consists of, passing a continuous length of metal web between a series of forming rolls to bend the web along lines parallel with an edge of the web to thereby form the same into a continuous formed sheet having the cross-sectional contour of a hull of a vessel, forming the same hull cross-sectional contour throughout the length of the web, applying pressure upon opposite side of the formed hull to collapse the hull until the sides engage thereby forming the stern of one vessel and the bow of another, severing the stern of one vessel from the bow of another in the collapsed area, and sealing the bow and stem of the vessel along the lines of severance.

2. The method for producin water going vessels in a continuous process from a metal web which consists of, passing a metal web through a series of forming roll to bend the web along lines parallel to an edge thereof, bending the web along the longitudinal median line thereof to form a substantially U-shaped metal member having the same cross-sectional contour throughout the length of the web as it leaves the forming rolls, engaging the sides of the U-shaped metal form by clamping members that collapse the U-shaped form toward the median line of the form, advancing the clamping members with advancement of the U-shaped metal form as it leaves the forming rolls during the clamping operation, severing the U-shaped forms from one another through th clamped portion thereof, releasing the clamping members from the U-shaped form, and sealing the ends of the U-shaped members along the lines of severance.

3. The method for producing water going vessels in a continuous process from a metal web which consists of, passing a metal web through a series of forming rolls to bend the web along lines parallel to an edge thereof, bending th web along the longitudinal median line thereof to form a substantially U-shaped metal member having the same cross-sectional contour throughout the length of the web as it leaves the forming rolls, engaging the sides of the U-shaped metal form by clamping members that collapse the U-shaped form toward the median line of the form, advancing the clamping members with advancement of the U-shaped metal form as it leaves the forming rolls during the clamping operation, severing the U-shaped forms from one another through the clamped portion thereof, releasing the clamping members from the U-shaped form, and returning the clamping members to their initial position for subsequent engagement of the U-shaped meta1 form upon subsequent actuation of the clamping members to thereby sever a determined length of formed web from the continuous Web.

4. The method for forming water going vessels in a continuous process which consists of, passing a metal web through a series of forming rolls to bend the same along lines parallel to an edge of the web and gradually produce a substantially U-shaped cross-section in the web that is the same throughout the entire length of the formed web, clamping the side walls of the formed U-shaped web together at periodic intervals, severing the web through the clamped areas, and sealing the severed end of the individual severed portions of the web, whereby individual vessels are produced from a continuous length of formed metal Web.

5. The method for forming Water going vessels in a continuous process which consists of, securing a plurality of metal sheets together in an end to end fashion to form a metal web having sheet section lengths equal to the length of a vessel to be produced, passing the assembled metal web between a series of forming rolls to bend the same along lines parallel to an edge of the web to gradually form the web into a substantially U-shaped contour having the cross-section of the hull of a vessel, clamping the side walls of the U-shaped web together at the points of juncture between the sheets that compose the web, severing the web at the points of juncture to thereby produce individual vessels, and sealing the vessels along the severed edges.

6. The method for forming water going vessels in a continuous process which consists of, passing a metal Web through a series of forming roll to bend the same along line parallel to an edge of the web and gradually produce a substantially U-shaped cross-section in the web that is the same throughout the entire length of the formed web, clamping the side walls of the formed U-shaped Web together at periodic intervals to thereby simultaneously form the stern of one vessel and the bow of another, the excess metal produced in the bow and stem portions of the vessels by the clamping of the U-shaped web extending downwardly from the bottom of the U-shaped member, slitting the excess metal at the bow of the vessel longitudinally along the median line of the U-shaped member, folding the flaps produced by the slitting operation upon one another to form the bottom edge of the bow of the vessel, clamping the excess metal at the stern of the vessel together along the median line of the U-shaped Web to form a stabilizing fin, severing the web through the clamped areas, and sealing the severed ends of the individual severed portions of the web, whereby individual vessels are produced from a continuous length of formed metal web.

RAYMOND D. BOURNE. 

